The American Botanical Council (ABC) welcomed Valensa’s adoption of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) through ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb botanical education program.
 
Valensa’s adoption supports ABC’s extensive HerbMedPro database, ensuring that this essential educational resource remains up to date for researchers, health professionals, industry members, students, consumers, and other members of the herbal and dietary supplements and natural medicine communities.
 
HerbMedPro is a comprehensive, interactive online database that provides access to important scientific and clinical research data on the uses and health effects of more than 250 herbs, spices, and medicinal plants.
 
“Saw palmetto is an important botanical with extensive scientific and clinical literature supporting its use,” wrote Umasudhan C.P., president and CEO of Valensa. “Specifically, the oil from the ripe saw palmetto berry is extracted to obtain a nutraceutical that has proven benefits in the management of lower urinary tract symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate.
 
“Valensa is committed to creating the highest quality, effective nutraceuticals, and is proud to be a world leader in producing saw palmetto extract, obtained using our sustainable wild-harvest practices and clean supercritical CO₂ extraction process,” Umasudhan continued. “ABC is providing a valuable service by helping industry and consumers access scientifically accurate and relevant information regarding the efficacy of saw palmetto and the quality differences that can exist in marketed products.”
 
Saw palmetto dietary supplements ranked 11th in total sales in natural foods stores in the United States in 2017 and 14th in the mainstream retail channel, according to ABC’s annual HerbalGram Herb Market Report for 2017. Retail sales for saw palmetto supplements in these two market channels totaled almost $30 million.
 
Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC, said: “ABC is deeply grateful to our good friends at Valensa for their adoption of saw palmetto on ABC’s HerbMedPro database. Valensa’s adoption allows ABC to be able to provide its members with up-to-date information on this economically important medicinal plant.”